Books

Homespun: Book Review and Blog Tour

September 4, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

If I had to tally all the most common questions I have been asked over my time here in New Zealand, probably one of the highest-scoring ones would be the question of whether I’m Amish or Mennonite. Unfortunately, I’m neither, so that leaves people rather stumped. However, I love the ex-Amish and Mennonites that I’ve been blessed to know over the years, and really appreciate the cultures they come from. So when I saw Homespun come up for review recently, I thought it would be a great read. And I ended up loving it!

Straight from the pens of Amish and Mennonite women . . .

Ever wish you could visit with a group of Amish or Mennonite women over a cup of coffee? In the pages of Homespun, Amish and Plain Mennonite women swap stories and spin yarns while we listen in. Lorilee Craker, bestselling author of Money Secrets of the Amish, collects these personal writings about hospitality, home, grief, joy, and walks with God. Hear from one woman who struggles with feeling inferior to her sister, from another about her longing for a baby, and from a third who accidentally bought stretchy material to sew her husband’s pants. Each woman’s story is a testament to the grace of God and the blessings of community.

Choose Your Own Story // Book Release Event!

August 25, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

Today, I’m thrilled to have the privilege to invite Sarah Holman to join me on this blog! She recently released Escape and Endurance, the fifth book in her Tales of Taelis series. This is a Christian medieval fantasy series that she has been writing for several years now, and although I haven’t read the last two yet, I’m hoping to very soon—I enjoyed the first three!

To celebrate the release of Escape and Endurance, Sarah has decided to do a “choose your own adventure” event, similar to those books we all enjoyed as children (hey, I still like going through our “day in the life of an otter” book, and trying to avoid the death traps!). I’ll let her carry this away.

Out of North Korea: The Suspense Book That Taught Me Something

August 20, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · 6 Comments

There are certain books you look forward to for quite a while before they finally come out. This book was one of them. And when I saw that a blog tour was being set up for it, I knew I wanted to be on it. So today, I’m pretty thrilled to share one of my more recent reads with you—and what a goodie! Completely different from what I expected, but sometimes those are the best ones, right?

I was somewhat disappointed when I got into Out of North Korea—I was expecting a heart-racing read, and it turned out to be a slightly slower, more thoughtful book. Then, I fell in love with the story, and finished it fairly quickly after all.

Trust and Obey: A Book After My Own Heart (Book Review & Blog Tour)

June 30, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

Years ago, I started a short story that was supposed to be based in ancient Israel. Later that year, I did NaNoWriMo for the first time, and re-wrote the story plus at least 10,000 words of a very long sidetrack involving a cave and hiding from the enemy (oh, fun!). Hey, it helped me win that year, anyway! Over the following year, I didn’t even look back on that draft—I knew it was so bad it needed a complete re-write. Since then, it has gone through several revisions, although I haven’t touched the story for three or four years now.

Even so, the setting in 66-67 AD Jerusalem has gripped my heart and I still remember the hours of research and figuring out story tidbits fondly. It was a fascinating time in Jewish history; not very pretty, but also containing some truly amazing things.

Fast forward to a month or so ago when I saw the announcement of author Faith Blum’s new book, Trust and Obey. After reading the synopsis and seeing the cover, I knew I wanted to read it, too. Turns out it has a good amount of similarities with my story, so I felt like I had come home when I opened the book and sat down to read!

Kiera: Worst. Distraction. Ever. (Book Review & Blog Tour!)

June 20, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · 4 Comments

One of the most fun things I’ve done in the internet world for the last few years is following authors, really enjoy reading their blogs, and then getting to read their books. I don’t think there’s anything quite as special as finding your newest favorite authors that way! Most recently, I saw a signup form for a book tour for a book called Kiera coming from a blog I read on a pretty regular basis. I figured I’d probably like it, so I signed up—without reading the synopsis, or anything (rather dangerous, yes!).

I also had another couple review books going at the time, so wondered how it would all work out—having four reading deadlines within a month isn’t always a great idea for me. BUT! I wanted to read this, so I signed up.

Journibles: A Rich Devotional Resource (Book Review and Blog Tour)

May 19, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · 1 Comment

There are some people that are very good salesmen, even if they don’t intend to be. (Or maybe they do…I don’t know.) Anyway, when Chautona Havig shared a review of the Journibles collection on Youtube one day, I watched it and decided I wanted to try it out one day.

Imagine my delight when I saw that it was coming up for review soon, and I’d be able to get a hardcover version! I was thrilled to receive the welcome email, and eagerly anticipated the little package in the mail for the following few weeks—until, one day, there it was!

If there’s anything better than book mail, especially with a book you just can’t wait to dive into, please tell me. But that totally made my day one afternoon after work!